EasyCall asks NTC to nullify fees

Easycall Communications Philippines (EasyCall), a Filipino firm which operated a paging business until 2002 but now offers internet access and web solutions services, is locked in a dispute with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) over its request for the cancellation of regulatory fees that have accumulated since it closed down the paging service. Publicly listed EasyCall owes the regulator PHP14.02 million (USD281,000) in supervisory fees relating to its paging operations for the period 2001-05. EasyCall has asked the NTC to cancel or withdraw the fee imposition, arguing that as it no longer has telecoms operations subject to supervision, it should not have to pay any fees.

EasyCall was set up in September 1989, and at its peak it cornered 40% of the country’s 789,100-strong paging market. However, it went into rapid decline from 1999 when mobile operators began offering text messaging services.